Writers in residence - an addition to the historic plinth of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein´s hut in Skjolden, Norway
The philosopher Ludwig J. Wittgenstein constructed a cabin in the most desolate and rough landscape, deepest into the Sognefjord, beneath the impassible mountains of Jotunheimen. There, in complete silence and isolation 40 meters above the fjord on a steep mountainside he did the preliminary work for, and parts of his greatest writings. Today, a 7 by 8 meter stone plinth marks up the only original reminiscence of Wittgenstein´s presence in Norway. After his death, the cabin was dismantled and parts reused to build a small house in the nearby village of Skjolden. Today, the plinth rises empty on the steep mountainside. Nevertheless there is a local wish to reconstruct the cabin as it was on the plinth.
Studio Fountainhead proposes an alternative strategy for the site that allow the historic plinth to become present in a spatial relationship to a modern extension. We want the site to live, to give quality back to Skjolden, - not to become a museum or a build phantom of a long gone past.
The proposed extension consists of a guesthouse for the philosopher, a vantage point for the wanderer and a primitive exhibition space, that communicate the story of Wittgenstein and exhibits the research of the current lodger. It is an architecture, that allow for the simultaneous use of multiple users without disturbances. The spaces are defined and enriched as a spatial extension of Wittgenstein´s plinth. In this way, the past becomes an active part of the future. - Because we believe, that the legacy of Wittgenstein is one that you can experience actively, as a living actor on multiple levels.
